They're All Bums (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Carrie comes through in the clutch and it spurs memories of a great night out at the ballpark.


_Mari & Ilna—Every minute of this journey has been an absolute treat. Thanks so much for sharing it and here's to many more years._

 _Sandy-I don't know how I could possibly survive fandom without you. The value of having someone who just gets it is something I never take for granted._

 _REAL Worlders-I can't thank you enough for all your enthusiastic support and encouragement. You guys are awesome. You make me want to write better stories to live up to your awesomeness. I apologize AGAIN for being so embarrassingly behind on replying to reviews but please know each and every one is read and appreciated. THANK YOU!_

* * *

 **They're All Bums (1/1)**

The Five-0 team was gathered in Steve's office reviewing stacks of evidence collected in their latest case. Steve sat behind his desk closely examining the crime scene pictures. Catherine and Danny were on the couch going over fingerprint and ballistics reports while Chin and Kono sat in the visitors' chairs combing through phone records and financials. Movement in the bullpen caught Steve's eye and when he looked up he saw Officer Ray Alana escorting Carrie across the bullpen. He noticed she was carrying a large manila envelope and practically bouncing with excitement and he hoped that meant what he thought it meant.

He rose quickly, crossed the room in several long strides and pulled open his office door. He thanked Ray for escorting Carrie up then turned to her with a look of anticipation. "You got it?"

Her broad smile was all the answer he needed.

Catherine jumped up from the couch and was at his side in an instant. When she saw the look that passed between Steve and Carrie she let out a squeal of excitement and clapped her hands together excitedly. "You did it?" she asked, wanting confirmation.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Carrie teased as she handed her best friend the envelope.

Catherine removed the contents and beamed as she examined them while Steve looked over her shoulder with a matching smile.

"What in the world did you do?" Danny craned his neck in an attempt to check out what was going on. "I haven't seen these two this excited in a long time."

Carrie looked at Steve and Catherine, who were still completely enthralled by the contents of the envelope, and then at Danny. "I have a friend in Chicago who knows somebody who knows somebody … you know how that goes," she smiled and Danny nodded. "Anyway, Cath and Steve had some pictures they took at the playoff game they went to with Cath's folks and Grandma Ang and my friend managed to get them autographed by two of the players."

"Not just two of the players," Catherine said with a touch of awe in her voice. "Grandma Ang's and Mom's favorite players." She held up the pictures carefully first for Danny to see then Chin and Kono. "Kris Bryant and Tommy LaStella."

"That's awesome," Chin smiled.

"On top of both being good players they are not hard on the eyes at all," Catherine waggled her eyebrows.

"There's something about a man in baseball pants." Kono fanned herself with the papers in her hand. "Can I see those pictures again?"

"Ok, enough of the drooling ladies," Danny groused.

"Look, they even signed them 'To Grandma Ang and Elizabeth," Steve pointed out. "This is awesome, Car, we owe you big."

Carrie jumped on his words immediately. "You can do my status reports."

"Not that big," Steve smirked.

"Hey, I didn't know you two were such big fans you own official Cubs jerseys," Chin chuckled as he took in their attire in the picture.

"My dad bought those for us and made us put them on at the airport when he came to pick us up." Catherine rolled her eyes. "He said we were in enemy territory and we needed to show our team as much support as we could."

* * *

 _Flashback_

" _Can't we wait until we get to the stadium to put them on," Catherine asked as her father handed her a Cubs jersey with Rollins emblazoned across the back._

" _No. I have very strict instructions from your mother and grandmother. You have to put them on now," Joseph insisted. "Something about how being proactive is our only chance to break the curse."_

 _Catherine chuckled. "They can't seriously believe … " her voice trailed off as she saw Steve had donned his own personalized jersey and was looking at her expectantly._

" _What?" he asked._

 _She put her hands on her hips. "Look, I love the Cubs as much as the next fan, but you can't tell me you seriously believe us putting on jerseys in the middle of the airport has anything to do with breaking or not breaking the curse."_

" _I believe that Grandma Ang and your mom believe it does," Steve smiled as he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "And I'm not getting in the middle of that."_

 _Catherine shook her head and sighed affectionately as she pulled the jersey over her head. "Let's go Cubs!"_

* * *

Present Day

"It's a shame they lost the game," Carrie said sympathetically.

"When you're a Cubs fan you learn not to let a heartbreaking loss ruin things for you," Catherine shrugged.

"That's right," Steve agreed. "We had a great time anyway. We got a fantastic dinner at Nonna's, got to spend time with family, and honestly, you haven't really enjoyed baseball until you've sat in the stands and watched a game with Grandma Ang."

* * *

 _Flashback_

" _He was out by twenty feet," Elizabeth said disgustedly as Starlin Castro was thrown out at the plate attempting to score what would have been the go ahead run._

 _Joseph shook his head. "He should have known better than to test Cespedes. That guy has a rocket for an arm."_

" _He would have had a better chance of turning around and trying to get back to third," Catherine grumbled._

" _I don't even have words to describe that play," Steve said._

" _I do," Grandma Ang said testily. "But they all have four letters."_

* * *

Present Day

"Sounds like her," Chin chuckled and the rest of the room's occupants nodded in agreement.

"Dark humor," Catherine sighed, "It's the hallmark of a true Cubs fan."

"Adam always says that if a woman wants a relationship that will last forever she should marry a dyed in the wool Cubs fan," Kono said. "They'll never give up no matter how bad things get."

Catherine smiled. "He has a point."

"Nonna told me she was putting out a light spread since she figured you guys would want to eat some at the stadium too," Danny said. "Which I'm assuming means she only put out food for ten people as opposed to twenty?"

"Pretty much," Catherine and Steve nodded in unison.

"It was delicious, of course," Steve added. "That goes without saying. And it was great we got a chance to see her. It would have been a shame not to while we were so close."

"She was right though," Catherine nodded. "We did end up eating again at the stadium."

* * *

 _Flashback_

" _What in the world is that?" Grandma Ang asked as she watched a Mets fan walk past carrying what appeared to be tacos and grilled cheese sandwiches."_

" _They offer lots of different kinds of food at this stadium," Catherine said. "I checked it out online on the flight here. They have barbecue, a seafood stand, Italian food, pretty much anything you could want."_

 _Grandma Ang scoffed. "Call me a purist. Ballgames are for hotdogs, popcorn, peanuts and a beer. Maybe an ice cream bar if it's especially hot. That's it."_

 _Joseph smiled. "Sounds like a perfect menu to me. I'll go get us some."_

" _I'll come with you and help carry," Steve said as he stood. "Anyone want anything else?"_

" _No thanks," the ladies all chorused._

 _Less than half an inning later Steve and Joseph were back with the food and beers._

" _That was fast," Catherine said as Steve made his way back to the seat beside hers._

" _Another advantage of sticking with the classics," he winked. "The lines weren't very long. If we'd wanted grilled cheeses sandwiches we'd have been standing there for an hour."_

* * *

Present Day

"Sounds like you had a good time regardless of the final score," Carrie said.

"We really did," Catherine smiled as her eyes were drawn back to the autographed photos. "Mary is gonna talk me through how to make a scrapbook with all the pictures we took that night and we're gonna give it to Grandma Ang for Christmas."

"I'm sure she'll love that," Kono said sincerely.

"I think so," Catherine smiled as she slipped the pictures back into the envelope. "Even though the Cubs lost I know she still had a great time."

"We all did," Steve smiled as he squeezed her arm.

* * *

 _Flashback_

" _Oh well," Elizabeth said, attempting to remain upbeat as the last out was made and the Cubs went down in defeat, "It's only game one. We'll get them tomorrow."_

" _Of course we will," Joseph said confidently as he kissed her cheek._

" _We should have expected it," Grandma Ang said, though her twinkling eyes took some of the edge off her grumbling, "They're all BUMS!"_

 _Catherine smiled at her grandmother's oft-repeated phrase. "But whatever happens, at least they made the NLCS this year."_

" _That's something I guess," Grandma Ang agreed grudgingly. "You wanna what else is something?"_

" _What?" they all asked._

 _Her eyes grew damp as she reached out and grasped Steve's and Joseph's hands._

" _You two are the exact opposite of bums. Thank you for making my dream come true. What I'll remember about this night isn't the final score, it's all the trouble you two went to to make this happen for me."_

" _It was our pleasure," Steve smiled as he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek._

" _I can't believe I actually managed to keep it a secret as long as I did," Joseph winked at his mother-in-law. "You're usually a step or two ahead of me when it comes to stuff like this."_

" _I was kinds shocked by that too," Ang chuckled before turning serious again. "I want you to know, the fact that I got to share this with all of you, my amazing daughter and granddaughter and the definitely not BUMS they share their lives with… that's all that matters."_

 _Catherine and Elizabeth gathered Grandma Ang into a group hug._

" _And remember," she smiled as Joseph helped to her feet, prepared to escort her to the wheelchair he'd arranged to have waiting on the concourse to make the long trip to the car easier, "Even if worse comes to worst and they lose this series, there's always next year."_

 **THE END**

* * *

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